Crying foul in debate over 'natural' chicken.

Pumped up saltwater chickens are on the regulatory menu in Washington, DC as advocates for "natural" food demand labels that reflect what the product actually contains. Actors wearing chicken suits were on the streets of the capital a few weeks ago, arguing that Tyson Foods and Pilgrim's Pride, the two biggest processors in the $58 billion-a-year U.S. chicken market, shouldn't be able to call their birds 100 percent natural. That's because up to 15 percent of their weight is an injected solution of ingredients such as salt, broth and seaweed extract. USDA approved labels from Tyson and Pilgrim's Pride, reasoning that salt, seaweed and chicken broth were natural ingredients.

A spokeswoman for USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service said the products are considered minimally processed because a cook can make a similar marinade at home with a fork and a plastic bag. The word-splitting is important because about 30 percent of chicken now is enhanced with some kind of solution. Proponents say consumers prefer the moister meat that is easier to cook.